Is Nursing as Stressful as Nursing School?

MomRN0913 · Sep 16, 2012

It's more stressful than nursing school. But the good news is they pay you, instead of you paying them!

Sun0408, ASN, RN · Sep 16, 2012

Nursing is more stressful than nursing school but in a different way.. Some days are not as near as stressful as others and some days I would gladly take the stress from school vs work :)

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · Sep 16, 2012

Nursing school was stressful, but I think being a nurse is WAY MORE stressful. Especially during your new grad period. In nursing school we had one patient that we were responsible for...sometimes two. During my preceptorship clinical, I was on a cardiac stepdown/VICU and was responsible for three but still had the "safety net" of my preceptor since I was still a student. There is a lot more liability as a nurse and a lot of things that go on that you don't necessarily see (or talk about) in nursing school.

haloisi · Sep 16, 2012

I am a new nurse and work on a small med/surg unit and can say that being a student is WAY easier than being a nurse.

wsp4905 · Sep 16, 2012

Yes, it is MORE stressful, in different ways. Mainly first and foremost, you are responsible for other people's lives more or less. So it is imparative you keep your patient's safe, double check when you are unsure of something and ask for help when needed. And it's important to know your scope of practice. On top of keeping your patient's safe and alive, you have to deal with all the unrealilistic expectations that most of your nursing management/ administration expect of you. And keep a smile on your face and not only provide superior health care but also customer service.

Those are the main cons.

there are also many positive aspects to nursing as well. It's challenging, always evolving and always learning new things. It is not stagnant, depending what area you work in. And as much crap as you may go through, when you get a sincere thank you from a patient, it makes your whole day better and worth it.

flyingchange · Sep 16, 2012

Working as a nurse doesn't consume my entire life the way being a student did. So in that sense, it is less stressful. I go home and enjoy my life after work.

PennyWise · Sep 16, 2012

I have to disagree with the comments that nursing is more stressful than school. Not because I don't think nursing is not stressful, but because I don't think the comparison is really fair.

"Is nursing as stressful as nursing school?" is like saying "Is doing your taxes as stressful as driving on the highway when there is construction going on?". They really are that different in my mind.

Nursing school is first and foremost designed to get you to a point where you will pass state boards first attempt. Everything else is secondary. The state boards are designed to predict whether or not you have the "critical thinking" skills to be a nurse. It can not however predict if your personality is a good match, if you have the physical means to handle the pt. lifting/moving, if you are good at managing your time well enough to handle a full patient load.

So, the stresses encountered in school, while being prepared for the state boards, are completely different than those faced by a staff RN on the unit trying to handle a full patient load.

Whether you find one or the other more stressful has more to do with what kind of stresses and challenges you deal with better.

Me, I agree being an RN is more stressful, but nowhere to the same degree the people who have posted before me say. I found school very stressful and just plain annoying. There seems to be some virus that has infected a great many nursing program coordinators, and the symptoms of this virus are disorganization, anxiety and inablility to stay focused. Every program I have attended or talked to others about is poorly managed and chaotic. They are hard for all the wrong reasons. I don't deal with this style of incompetency well, it angers me, hence I find school very stressing.

H~W~1981 · Sep 16, 2012

Yes and No. the stress of having someone watch your every move, criticize every single thing u do, and the paper work you have to do is a little ridiculous. when i got out of school and went to work in a nursing home every little thing totally FREAKED ME out. I severely overreacted to everything. if someone's BP was 140/90 I was paginfg doctor. however in the REAL world it is nothing like nursing school. paperwork has to be thorough but most is computerized and is fairly straight forward and simple. i learned quickly that normal in nursing school is not normal in real nursing. u have to look at each person case by case. for instance review a chart on that person's BP and u see that their BP always runs between 140/86 to 150/94, the doc doesn't want to be called for that. that is just where that person BP is at. nopw if that BP jumps to 160/100 then yes call doctor cause that is above normal for them. the most stressful thing about nursing that is WAY MORE stressful than school is the fact that u no longer have someone watching your every move or second guessing you to make u think "r u really correct"? you are completely on your own, with a person's life in your hands, to make the best decision for them. AND that right there is when u have to say ok i'm trained and I CAN DO THIS! Always know that if u are unsure it never hurts to ask a fellow employee nurse or a supervisor> better safe than sorry. but u can't always go running to someone else. HAVE CONFIDENCE IN YOURSELF AND YOUR TRAINING. The longer u work the more experienced u become and more confident u will be.

NurseLeeny · Sep 16, 2012

I am a Canadian Nurse, but used to think the same thing. Looking back it is my opinion that it was all a psychological test to see what we're made of and how badly we really want to be nurses.

I recall seeing a lot of students who didn't take the education seriously or had a bad attitude because of the course-load, but if you think about it, nursing really is all about pressure, having to think on your feet, multiple choices and having to chose the most right...so..I think it was all preparation.

Working after graduation was still challenging as some nurses just like to challenge new grads more than others, but you have to just put your big girl pants on...can carry on....

SO, that being said...it's worth it..one of the important tasks essential to your nursing practice is time management...now's your chance to organize yourself and carry on.

Don't let them win...you want to be a nurse for a reason...be kind to yourself..you can do it.

FLmed · Sep 16, 2012

Nursing school is a breeze compared to the first year or so of being a new nurse.

Agree

imjustme123 · Sep 16, 2012

Thanks for all the interesting comments. There are so many types of nursing so on a second note, what types of nursing are less stressful and which types are more? Would an LPN have less stress than an RN?

Tarabara · Sep 16, 2012

Working as a nurse doesn't consume my entire life the way being a student did. So in that sense, it is less stressful. I go home and enjoy my life after work.

I'm actually going to go against the grain and say that nursing school was almost more stressful because of this^ reason. Nursing can be extremely stressful at times because as others have said there is a lot of responsibility, and you effect people's lives. You're also the middle man between docs, social workers, CNAs, lab, imaging, physical therapy, etc which gets very frustrating. However, even on the most stressful days I know that my coworkers have my back, and when I go home my patient is still being taken care of. I can go home and relax. I dont have an overwhelming day of clinicals to go home to overwhelming hours of homework. My life doesnt feel consumed by nursing.

I'm a new grad, been working 6 months and yes I still ask a ton of questions all the time but I'm fortunate to be on a floor with an amazing group of people who all support one another. I dont feel super stressed most days because I know they're there to help. :)